Geriatric Peer Support Systems and their Influence on the Psychosocial Wellbeing of Dementia Patients and their Families in Meru County, Kenya

Dementia has become an emerging public health concern in Kenya, placing substantial psychological, social and economic demands on affected individuals and their families. In Meru County, the increasing need for dementia care has highlighted the importance of accessible and integrated geriatric peer support systems to support the psychosocial wellbeing of dementia patients and their families. This study examined Geriatric peer support systems and the psychosocial wellbeing of dementia patients and their families in Meru County. The study was guided by Person-Centred Care Theory (Kitwood, 1997), Social Support Theory (Cobb, 1976) and the Biopsychosocial Model. A descriptive-correlational research design was adopted. The target population comprised dementia patients, primary caregivers and geriatric healthcare providers involved in dementia care in Meru County. Dementia patients and primary caregivers were selected using purposive, snowball and simple random sampling, while geriatric healthcare providers were selected using simple random sampling. A total of 104 respondents participated in the survey. A total of 60 Geriatric Healthcare Providers were used to obtain Quantitative data while qualitative data was obtained through interviews with 22 primary caregivers and 22 Dementia Patients. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and interview schedules. Instrument validity was established through expert review and construct validation, while reliability was confirmed using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients, all of which met the minimum acceptable criterion of 0.70 and above. Quantitative data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), employing descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and regression analysis at 5% level of significance (α = .05). Qualitative data were analyzed thematically to complement the quantitative findings. The study found that, peer support interventions (r = .962, p < .001) had strong positive and statistically significant associations with psychosocial wellbeing. Separate regression models showed that peer support interventions 63.3% (R² = .633, p < .001) and family support management 69.9% (R² = .699, p < .001) of the variation in psychosocial wellbeing. In the combined regression model, the two service components jointly explained 82.2% of the variation in psychosocial wellbeing (R² = .822; adjusted R² = .809; F (4,55) = 63.523, p < .001). Qualitative evidence revealed inadequate follow-up after diagnosis, limited specialized geriatric mental health services, insufficient caregiver training and weak community-based peer support systems, placed considerable emotional, social and financial burden on Geriatric patients and their families. The study concludes that integrated and person-centered geriatric peer support systems are important for supporting the psychosocial wellbeing of dementia patients and their families. It recommends community-based peer support programmes, caregiver education, and the integration of geriatric mental health services into primary healthcare. The study contributes empirical evidence on dementia care in Kenya and provides practical recommendations for improving multidisciplinary dementia support systems in Meru County, Kenya.

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